Banff in A Nutshell

Entertainment by Parks Canada Agency

I’ve grown to like Banff a great deal more than I thought I would. The best part, I found it near impossible to wake up at the wrong side of bed when one of the first things I see in the morning is the scenic beauty outside the window.

Finally, I’d like to express my sincere thanks to Jae Yong and In Sung for taking such great care of me and giving me a wonderful time. I’m sorry for all the inconvenience that I’ve caused you (I know that I’ve been a third wheel for the past week and a half) and I hope that you won’t remember any of them when I see you next. Until next time when we meet again! Take good care and I wish you nothing but the best!

Attention! All salute to Sir "GUTS!" Arr!

Let’s say that one evening in the dead of winter, you crashed into a bar, met a fascinating dude and shared a few drinks with him. The two of you drank enough to get drunk, drunk enough to feel invincible and invincible enough to chart an imaginary voyage on a dug-out-canoe, departing from Victoria, BC, Canada, destination: Sydney, Australia. Hammered as both of you were, you guys probably figured that it is naive to journey across half the planet simply by rowing a canoe and had therefore decided to put in some sails to make it more efficient. The next day after you and your newly-found buddy had sobered up from the booze, would you still honour this awesome plan that was madly devised the night before?

Norman Luxton and Jack Voss met on a somewhat similar encounter and they did made their journey on that canoe. The upper hand that they had was that Jack was a seasoned sailor albeit his tendencies to be notorious. Their journey came nothing close to a smooth sailing one. Not only did they endured the weather’s temperament, they also survived numerous ship wrecks (in this case, canoe wrecks), threats and attacks from various marine animals and pirates, almost being trapped into an arrange marriage with a native princess (in one of their island stops), immigration and landing permit issues as well as the worsts of each other. Both gentlemen barely made it to Sydney alive. They were both hospitalize shortly after arrival. Upon recovery, Norman did not join Jack on the canoe ride back home.

The Pictures Paint a Way Better Picture than What My Vocab. Could II: Down by the Valleys

Bow River & Valley, Jan 1, 2011

Lake Vermillion, Jan 2, 2011

Skiing. Ouch.

Pain. At. My. Back. Shoulders. Knees. And. Bum. Don’t. Try. This. Without. Taking. Instructions. Or. Classes. Prior. Don’t. Try. This. Alone. It. Is. So. Very. Dangerous. Thank. You. Jae. Yong. For. Being. There. The. Slope. Wins. Missing. Buddha. Defeated. Peace. Out.

Spot. Me. In. A. Heartbeat.
Photo supplied by courtesy of Jae Yong - SunShine Ski Resort, Jan 3, 2011

Tomorrow! Skiing!

Gust-O Metre reading: Above average but below outrageous.
I think I could try skiing.

During my stay here with Jae Yong and In Sung, whom are both snowboarding fanatics, I’ve quite taken to the idea of visiting the slopes; or at least, try out something that is a component in the Winter Olympics. No regrets, right?
I’ve decided to go with skiing instead of snowboarding. I know that this disappoints my very hospitable hosts. However, I do feel a lot more insured with having each of my foot on a ski, allowing my feet to move more freely compared to having them stuck together on a piece of miniature surfing board. Furthermore, I will have 2 sticks, 1 for each hand, to grab onto for balance. I'm very sorry guys...

Jae Yong has most kindly borrowed ski-gears from her co-worker, Achiko, whom is about the same height and size as me so that I wouldn't have to die from hypothermia. In Sung, on the other hand, has borrowed a Marmot pass from one of his friends which could get me admitted into the ski resort at a discounted rate. Schweet! I’m truly grateful to them all and am very glad that I came. Since Jae Yong has a day off work tomorrow, we’ll take advantage of it and will be be hitting the slopes first thing in the morning. Wish me luck!


On a different note, a good deal of today was spent on stalking deers and magpies. It started with me bumping into a doe on the street. I couldn't resist and started to photograph her frantically. At first, she was creeped out by my paparazzi pursuit - a crazy stranger with a camera in “my” face! How scandalistic and shameless!
After tailing her for about a block, she came closer, sniffed me out and left me be once she gathered that I have no food to offer. My existence depreciated from potential predator to squirrel. Eventually, my stalking paid off as she led me to 2 of her deer-buddies napping in some dude's a yard. Nearby where the deers were was a dumpster heavily guarded by magpies fending their territory from a raven, a bird that looks identical to a crow only twice as large. The magpies won the staring gala and celebrated with scrounging through plastic bags of trash and leftovers. Imagine an uber large meat bun with black wings and a slate thin tail, you won’t believe how plump these birds are and how they manage to take flight!

2011 New Year Special

This year, I found myself living through the meshing of 2010-2011 at Banff’s Time Square in Mountain Standard Time (Toronto is 2 hours ahead in time and Malaysia, 13). New year's days have always felt surreal to me. "What do you mean that this year is over?" "Who on earth invented the calendar system?"
Oh yeah, the Romans did.

Today, this temporal length of surrealism was spent with Jae Yong and In Sung among a group of hyper-enthusiastic people from every here and there around the planet, fuelled by booze and the burning desire to explode their gutts out with fun despite the extreme weather at -29 degree Celsius.

At about 8 minutes to 12am, a group of Australians banzai-ed to the name of their motherland, 'AUS-TRAY-LEE-A!' This was shortly ensued by a group of young punks catching on with 'SASS-KA-TOON!' attempting to out-banzai the Ausies. Out of no where, people started whipping out bottles booze from their bags, pockets and coats, taking the pub, bar and club to the streets (Whoot! Whoot!). One lady in particular flipped out a bottle of champaign from her purse and shook it real hard. By the time she was done shaking, the crowd had already distant themselves from her, leaving her and her friends standing in the middle of a 3-4 meters radius circle while she pulled a semi-successful champaign shower.

3 minutes to midnight, the fireworks show started, which made me wonder if the clock tower at Time Square was 3 minutes behind or if someone had lit the explosives prematurely. Then, somewhere among the crowd, folks started singing Wonderwall, the new Aud Lang Syne of the modern/post-modern global society.

The countdown was not honoured.

It felt like this year hasn't begun.

I had fun though :)